crucifixion – La Vista Church of Christ

Irresponsibility Crucified Jesus

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:39:39 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

Pilate thought he could just wash his hands of any responsibility, and while we think little of Pilate for trying to pass off his responsibility, how are we better than Pilate when we do not stand up for Jesus when we should? Is Pilate really much different from us? (Matthew 27:20-24).

The body of Christ (the church- Ephesians 1:19ff) is once again in our hands. We can stand up and help the church of Christ be strong and grow, or we can wash our hands of responsibility and let others care for the church. If the church dies in your area, who is responsible for letting it die? Is it the other brethren’s responsibility to keep the church going, holding up the gospel light, but not yours? Have you done as Pilate and washed your hands of responsibility?

If you are not there to support and encourage the body of Christ, you have, in effect, dismissed yourself from any responsibility and shifted it to others. That is what Pilate did! Being spiritually irresponsible is killing the body of Christ today. Which is worse? What Pilate did, or what you are doing? Irresponsibility crucified Jesus and continues to do so today. People think they can just wash their hands of any responsibility toward the body (the church) of Christ. Like Pilate, they will learn how foolish they were when it is too late. The success of the local church is very much in your hands!

The Sins That Crucified the Savior

Dishonesty Crucified Jesus

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:05:50 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

The fact that the chief priests were looking for anything they thought they could get to stick as a valid reason for the death sentence for Jesus (Matthew 26:59f) shows that they were corrupt and dishonest. False witnesses are liars.

Those who use lies to undermine and get rid of someone are certainly not honest and do not want to abide by the golden rule. They are eaten up with dishonesty, and dishonesty is one thing that crucified an innocent man. False witnesses were brought in to lie, and their false testimony is what got Jesus crucified.

Lies are motivated by dishonesty. Seeking to undermine someone by intentional misrepresentation is no less a sin today. Wherein we cannot face the truth, we show that we also had a part in Jesus’ crucifixion. When we hide from facing the truth, that is the very attitude that got Jesus crucified. You were there, and you lied, or were complicit in a lie, when we allow peer pressure to quieten the truth so that a lie may prevail.

Lies drove the nails into making an innocent man suffer. Your lies nailed Him, too! Perverting Jesus’ words just enough to sound legitimate and others wanting to use any argument they could get to stick, is a sure sign of dishonesty.

When we support lies or say nothing to set the record straight when we hear a lie told against another, we become complicit with the lie and the liar, and that, too, is what crucified Jesus. Were you there, in character and similar guilt, when they crucified the Lord? Can we be honest about this matter?

The Sins That Crucified the Savior

Ignorance Crucified Jesus

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:01:22 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

Ignorance is not bliss. From the cross, Jesus said, “they know not what they do” (ignorance), and later Peter told the Jews that I know that you did it by ignorance (Acts 3). Ignorance is not knowing what is vitally important. When there are things we know we should do, but we don’t do them, this is the same ignorance that crucified Jesus. When we don’t know Jesus well enough today to be bolstered to serve Him and stand up for Him, it is the same ignorance that brought about His crucifixion. If they knew and appreciated who He was, they would have supported Him and stood for Him. Our ignorance is compared with theirs. Ignorance was no excuse then, and especially after the powerful testimony of His resurrection. But if you are willingly ignorant, you would have done the same thing those Jews did who shouted, “crucify Him.”

Paul said that if they had known, they would not have crucified Jesus (I Corinthians 2:9). Our not knowing Jesus well enough to stand up for Him now is the same ignorance that crucified Him then, and that is how God sees us and compares us to the ignorance of that crowd back then. Do you see that? We must own our part in the guilt of Jesus' crucifixion before we can ever own the blessings it can potentially bring us. "Were you there when they crucified My Lord?"

The Sins That Crucified the Savior

Covetousness Crucified Jesus

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:55:51 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (I Timothy 6:10). We think little of Judas for selling Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. But is Judas worse for being there at the time, while we sell Jesus in other ways? What have we sold him for? A Job that keeps us away from fellowship and communion? Some just have to get away to the lake on the Lord’s Day, making our covetousness more important than fellowship with Him and His people. We cannot make Judas the bad guy when we do similar things. Can we? Yes! Covetousness and materialism overruled the love for Christ in Judas’ case, but have we sold Jesus out for equal or less?

Jesus would not have been crucified except that Judas made a decision that he wanted money more than he wanted Jesus. Covetousness overrules in more hearts than just in Judas. When we don’t want the kingdom of Jesus and His church to be first (Matthew 6:33), and desire material pursuits more, have we not sold Jesus out? Covetousness and materialism often win the heart over Jesus. Our affections should be on things above and not on things of the earth (Colossians 3:1f), but like Judas, we will realize it was not worth the tradeoff. He could not live with himself after he held the money in his hand and really thought about what he had just done.

We, too, will realize we made a foolish trade. We will see ourselves reflected in the foolishness of Judas. Covetousness crucified Jesus. Has that been your value system? Were you there when they crucified the Lord?

The Sins That Crucified the Savior

Prejudice Crucified Jesus

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:21:40 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

When we own our part in the sins that crucified Jesus, we come to see that guilt can be the beginning of the transformation we really need. First, we see that the very sins that led to Jesus being crucified were those of ourselves. Those who were there in the flesh were just reflections of ourselves. We were there in spirit and attitude. When we see ourselves being unfair in judgments of others, we can see that we are guilty of the very sins that were involved in crucifying that innocent man, Jesus.

Making an unfair assessment of others without sufficient knowledge was the very thing that brought about Jesus’ merciless beatings and scourging. Jesus turns personal when we are prejudiced against other people of other races and economic levels. He said: If we do it to "one of the least of these," we did it to Jesus (Matthew 25:33ff). Hating others and showing prejudice today are the very sins involved that caused Jesus’ suffering and death. By doing it toward people, Jesus says, “You did it to me.” It may not necessarily be racial prejudice. When you pre-judge a person without getting to know the person, or join a group to ridicule, shun, and bully, and make fun of, you are doing that to “one of the least of these”, a brother of Jesus, and it shows what you would have done in the crowd that bullied and abused Jesus. We show that we are no better than they are.

We may be guilty of prejudging a person as worthless or deserving of being bullied, and we stand by and say nothing in defense of that person. That is a form of the prejudice that was in that crowd. We were there at the crucifixion of Jesus, saying nothing in the innocent man’s defense. Why? Because we prejudged that someone deserves to be shunned, bullied, and verbally abused. Why? Simply because we saw them as different from us by the way they looked, or in their mannerisms, or expressions.

How many people could have used a friend, but we prejudged that they were not worthy of our friendship? That is unfair judgment, and that was the very prejudice that joined the crowd that said, “let Him be crucified!” As the song asks, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” Was your prejudice represented there? When we see ourselves properly before the cross, we can begin to change, to transform as godly sorrow begins to bring about repentance toward holiness. Own our part in the guilt so that we may begin to actually receive the benefits of what Jesus offers us in the old rugged cross. Can you see your unfair judgment represented that day at the cross?

The Sins That Crucified the Savior

Envy Crucified Jesus

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:34:20 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

Pilate knew that it was only because of envy that the Jewish leaders had brought Jesus to his judgment seat (Matthew 27:18). He thought that their envy was not so great that they would want a “notorious prisoner,” Barabbas, released instead of Jesus, but this was not so. Some religious people let their envy run so deep that they will do just about anything to get rid of that person. Pilate learned just how deep the envy of the chief priests really was, and now an innocent man will pay a high price while a guilty man goes free.

It was because of envy that He was delivered to be tried and executed. When we envy others, we do it to Jesus. Being envious of others is a sure sign that we would have just as easily allowed ourselves to get wrapped up in the envy that killed Jesus, and again, if you do it to “one of the least of these,” Jesus says, “You did it to me.”

Is there a person “you can’t stand” because they seem to have the popularity you crave, the attention you crave, the looks, the talents you crave? If you hate them and wish bad things upon them, you were in that crowd that envied Jesus enough to want Him crucified. Jesus was crucified by envy.
We can’t say that those chief priests were worse sinners. It was our envy that perverted fairness and justice. We were there in spirit, crucifying that innocent man. “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to Me.” Envy backstabs a brother or sister in Christ, tries to undermine, and tries to get rid of someone, but that behind-the-scenes behavior was already mirrored by the envy that chose Barabbas over Jesus.

Didn’t we see this envy there? Were you there when they crucified Jesus? If envy was involved in crucifying Jesus, Jesus can see into our hearts and know that we are just extensions of that crowd. Were you there when envy crucified the Lord? What do you see in the mirror of God’s word? Be wise in your self-reflection!

The Sins That Crucified the Savior

A Prayer from a Pit

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 21:05:40 +0000

by Bill Boyd

On a visit to Jerusalem, I was taken to a church that was built over the traditional house of Caiaphas. In the lower parts of that church, there is a cistern. An ancient tradition says that this cistern is where Jesus was kept the night before his crucifixion. We went down into the pit, and for some, it was an emotional experience. While it is possible that Jesus was lowered into a pit, the scriptures say nothing of this.

Joseph was thrown into a pit where there was no water (Genesis 37:24). His brothers later confessed, “We saw the anguish of his soul, when he sought us, we would not hear” (Genesis 42:21).
Jeremiah was cast into a pit and sunk in the mire. He was rescued by an Old Testament Ethiopian eunuch who drew him out with “old cast clouts and rotten rags” (Jeremiah 38:6-13).

David sang of being in a pit:

“I am counted with them that go down into a pit” (Psalms 88:4);
“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay” (Psalms 40:2);
I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me… Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me” (Psalms 69:2, 14-15).

The 69th Psalms is David’s prayer from a spiritual pit. With humility and trust, he laid his case before God: “I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried… because for thy sake I have born reproach… they that sit in the gate speak against me” (Psalms 69:1-12). He appealed to God’s mercy for deliverance: “Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily” (Psalms 69:13-20). When it came to his enemies, he appealed to God's justice: “Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them… Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous” (Psalm 69:20-28). This psalm begins in a pit with tears, but it ends in heaven with rejoicing: “I will praise the name of God with song… The humble shall see this, and be glad… Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein” (Psalms 69:29-36).

The New Testament makes extensive use of this psalm and applies it to Jesus. In John 2:17, when the disciples remembered how it was written, “The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up,” they were remembering Psalms 69:9. In John 15:25, when Jesus said, “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause,” he was speaking of Psalms 69:4. In Matthew 27:34 and John 19:28, when they lifted vinegar and gall to the mouth of Jesus as he was dying on the cross, the scripture that was fulfilled was Psalms 69:21. When Peter spoke of Judas in Acts 1:20 and said, “It is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take,” he was referring to Psalms 69:25. In Romans 11:9-190, as Paul was justifying God’s rejection of the Jews who had rejected the gospel, Paul wrote, “David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back always.” David had said this in Psalms 69:22-23.

David’s pit was not real; it was spiritual. We, too, can find ourselves in spiritual pits of despair, distress, and discouragement. Like Bunyan’s pilgrim, there are times when we may have to slog through a “slew of despond.” In those times, we can turn to scripture and prayer; there we will find strength to endure. As Jesus passed through his trials, he could relate to the difficulties David faced. Likewise, Jesus can relate to the trials we face. “In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted... For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:15-16).

The 69th Psalm teaches us how to pray from a pit.

Outside the Camp

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:29:21 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Outside-the-Camp.mp3

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

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Text: Hebrews 13:9-14

I. Understanding the place of the Old Testament is difficult for man

A. God is clear that

1. The Old Law would come to an end - Jeremiah 31:31-34

2. The Old Law did come to an end - Colossians 2:14; Ephesians 2:15-16

B. The book of Hebrews is mostly about why that change had to take place and how much better the New Law of Christ is - Hebrews 8:6

C. We are going to examine the concluding summary of Hebrews to better understand these things - Hebrews 13:9-14

II. The book of Hebrews was targeted to Christians from a Jewish background

A. From the establishment of the church there were always elements who tried to push Christianity back toward the Old Law - Acts 15:1-5

B. The book of Galatians deals with the issue

1. A perversion of the Gospel - Galatians 1:9-10

2. Christians were being pulled away by Judaizing teachers - Galatians 3:1-4

3. People wanted to make it a Jewish sect - Galatians 6:12-15

III. Old Testament Food versus New Testament Food

A. It wasn’t just circumcision that was at issue, there was push to conform to the dietary laws

1. “Righteousness” was being determined by conforming to the rules of the Old Law - Colossians 2:17-18

2. Even though food doesn’t make a person righteous - I Corinthians 8:8

3. Foods do not profit the person occupied with them - Hebrews 13:9

4. Don’t subject yourselves to regulations - Colossians 2:20-23

5. Righteousness comes by grace, not by law keeping - Romans 3:27-28

B. Under the Old Testament, only the priest could eat from the altar - Numbers 18:9-10

1. It was a part of a priest’s rights - I Corinthians 9:13

C. But Christians have food which cannot be eaten by priests following after the Old Law - Hebrews 13:10

1. They had no right to it

2. Jesus declared that he was the bread - John 6:35, 48, 51

3. That bread we partake in - I Corinthians 5:7; 10:16-17

4. The Lord’s Supper represents this, but we understand that Jesus wasn’t talking about physical food, but spiritual food

5. Christ bought with his blood our salvation - Hebrews 10:5-12

6. And those remaining under the Old Law had no right to partake in it

D. Notice that the writer talks about those serving under the tabernacle

1. Why tabernacle instead of temple?

2. A tabernacle was a tent, a temporary dwelling

3. This was a further stab that the Old Law was only temporary

E. Pulling in the Old keeps you out of the New - Galatians 5:2-4

IV. Jesus’ death is compared to the sacrifices of the Old Testament - Hebrews 13:11-12

A. The sin offerings were not fully burnt on the altar - Leviticus 16:27

B. It wasn’t a coincidence that Jesus died outside the city limits - John 19:17-18

C. In this way, Jesus became a type of burnt offering. His sacrifice was in the category of burnt offerings - Ephesians 5:2

D. But because it was outside the gates of Jerusalem, what was done was not fully a part of the Old Law. It is for this reason that Jesus’ blood reaches those not born as Jews - Ephesians 2:11-18

E. Using Jerusalem as a symbol, the writer points out that to partake of this sacrifice, the Jew must go outside the camp - Hebrews 13:13

F. They had to come out of the Old Law - Romans 7:4

G. That it would involve hardships was a given - Matthew 5:10-12

V. No continuing city - Hebrews 13:14

A. The Old Law had been fade since the days of Jeremiah - Hebrews 8:13

B. The city that the Jews took so much pride in would not last - Matthew 24:1-2

C. There was nothing left for the Jews under the Old Law

D. But in Christ we seek an eternal home - Philippians 3:20-21

E. Salvation is not in the Old Law, but in Christ and his law.

F. Will you also seek for the continuing city to come?

Why Did Jesus Die? (Warfel)

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 18:16:40 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Why-Did-Jesus-Die.mp3

by Raymond Warfel

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The Crucified King

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 01:48:58 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

The King let Himself be crucified, but that did not lessen His rule or disqualify Him from being King (Psalm 2). Instead, His crucifixion became the very means of winning the hearts of those who would enter His kingdom. He is the King who rules hearts by winning them first.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13). No king ever started a kingdom by dying for his citizens. But, Jesus did. A King who rules by the greatest form of love will have citizens who love being in the king's domain or kingdom.

This King also arose from the dead to show His power is greater than death itself, and His death was indeed to save us from the condemnation we were headed for until He changed our hearts.

There is no king or president of any nation or country who is greater than King Jesus. All kings of the earth and presidents will bow the knee to King Jesus (Philippians 2:10). "He is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light...to whom be honor and everlasting power"(I Timothy 6:15-16).

God has set the King over a kingdom of volunteers. Those who know Him, love Him! He is our greatest advantage in this world.

Do you know Jesus the King? Do you want to learn about Him?